[mykalberta]

Lets set Via Rail/Canada Post aside as they are basically corporations owned by the Federal Government and if they saw fit they should be able to shut them down at any time if they were bleeding money or no longer providing a needed service.

CBC is a different animal because it is a media company. However while I dont want someone from any government with any say in how it reports the news, how it spends tax payer money on money on losing ventures should be accountable to more than just some board of directors at the CBC (unless the CBC operates with no tax payer money).

The CBC will always be a contentions issue as previous governments have used it as an arm for promoting Canadian created arts and culture so its not just the "news independence" people who support the CBC but all the media types who make their living from the CBC.

IMO CBC only needs 1 channel to keep its "media independence" whether that be regular CBC or Newsworld (radio isnt needed IMO if its not profitable).

But people also need to realize, media companies in all forms are having to drastically change their business model to compete with what seems to the public as free and more instant news (some accurate, some not so) on the Internet so your brick and mortar media companies need to adapt.

The CBC seems to have always used the "free and open media" as a defence against cutbacks - that is fine for the news division but everything else (all the filler shows they produce etc) arent and shouldbt be part of that defence IMO.